I hate to say it, but pretty sure that A Distant State isn't going to reach its goal. It was a nice dream and I do appreciate the support that I have had so far in this journey. It seems like crowdsourcing just won't cut it for this project. No worries, I'm still moving forward. 

I posted an update on the Facebook page that I set up for A Distant State that I'll paste here:

Six days into National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I'm ahead of goal so far. Material has been flowing with no struggles. After reviewing the already written parts prior to November 1st, I decided to rework the previous chapters 16, 17 and 18. Now that I am 11,000 words in and I just finished the re-writing of Chapter 18, which took the closure out that I had previously written to allow the novel to have more material. The next 39,000 words will be telling more of the story of the passengers onboard the Libertad.

Other notes on the progress, I received the Chapter 2 edits back from the editor (Thanks, Mom!) and will be making those changes and sending Chapter 3 Dylan-edit draft to the editor in December.

Thanks for sticking with me. Things are coming together and come December, full editing takes place on the complete novel.

You can find the facebook page at this link: https://www.facebook.com/adistantstate/ to stay up to date with my last postings, leave me some feedback, and stay abreast on the latest news. 

Sorry for the lack of updates and the length of this update. Even though I haven't made any updates that doesn't mean that A Distant State is fading. Matter of fact, I've been hard at work getting ready for November where I will complete the manuscript for the complete first draft. The outline for the last dozen chapters are all completed, with some room to the let the story grow organically. I saved the last bit of the first draft for National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo, which is held the month of November. 

If you have ever thought about writing a novel or wanted to do some creative writing, I encourage to try it some time. It's a good time even if you never wanted to be published. 

In case you didn't know what it is, here is a blurb from their website (http://nanowrimo.org/):  National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

Actually the first part of A Distant State was written in November of 2013 and shelved to be reviewed later. Tearing into the novel has renewed my interest in getting it finished and see if I can get this bad boy published in one shape or another. Inkshares was the first real attempt to see if A Distant State was ready to be published. 

The good news is that I've doubled down to make this an obtainable goal, whether it is from Inkshares, Lulu.com, Createspace, or a traditional publisher. With the outline and notes in place, I'm just waiting for November 1st to pick up the story with Aleski and Cloee in their adventures on the Libertad.  

Now for the bad news, the deadline for Inkshares e-book goal is down to twenty three days. There are only seventeen pre-orders which is a far shot from the goal of 750. I really appreciate the support that everyone has provided throughout this process, but it doesn't look that the book is going to reach the finish line with Inkshares on this pass. We will see what happens when I have the manuscript completed and a complete first draft edit has taken place. 

In the meantime, I have created a Facebook page for A Distant State that I'm going to continue to update after the completion of the Inkshares campaign. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/adistantstate if you would like to follow on in the journey to the completion of A Distant State. 

As I have said numerous times before, thank you very much for your support and pre-orders. Just a reminder that if the book doesn't reach the goal, your account will not be charged and you aren't short any cash. 

As always, Comrade, the Republic over the individual.